Chapter 102: Shadows Before the Ball
Lyria's POV
After the luncheon, I slipped away from my hidden vantage as quietly as I had arrived. The weight of what I had witnessed lingered with me as I made my way back through the lesser-used corridors toward my room.
Lucian had surprised me, and that was the honest truth. He was less like the boy I remembered from the past and more like the man I believed he was trying to be—although trying would not be the right word, because he was becoming exactly who he was.
But even then, I could not dwell on it. I could not think about his words. I could not think about how he had changed. I could not think about any of that.
Charming as Lucian was proving to be, I could not afford to focus on him.
The next date would take place the following day, and after that would come the ball—the elimination ball, where any suitor who had failed to impress Jacinta would be sent back to his territory with whatever dignity he could salvage.
